


Time After Time

by Mistfallen



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Bokuaka- Freeform, F/M, Friends to Lovers, I'm not that mean, M/M, One-Sided Relationship, Semisuga- freeform, Sort of Poetry, Unrequited Crush, but they do get together in the end i swear, seriously lots of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-24 00:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9691841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistfallen/pseuds/Mistfallen
Summary: Semi Eita has recently discovered that he may be feeling something a little different than what he's used to in regards to Tendou Satori, but there's no time to even think much of that little predicament before they both go off to separate colleges and start their lives anew.





	1. Nothing's Different (except everything is)

**Author's Note:**

> So I really don't have much to say about this besides the fact that this is going to be an interesting ride and I hope all of you are ready to brave the storm that is this headcanon coming to life.

          The day Semi Eita confesses his feelings for Shiratorizawa’s own redheaded guess monster is the day that all hell will break loose. Semi doesn’t want that, and even though he may not be the brightest in terms of school smarts, he has enough common sense to figure out that the easiest way to solve his problem is to pretend that there is no problem. In fact, there wasn’t a problem at all until nationals, when Tendou holds Semi’s hand for a little longer than he needs to when Semi’s taking his spot on the court (Tendou never has been the best at serving anyways). Semi figures it boils down to nothing more than a silent passage of luck from one teammate to another, but the feeling of Tendou’s warm- albeit sweaty- hand on his own is not lost upon him. It’s not Semi’s nerves that get the best of him; he got over being scared of messing up a long time ago. But his stomach is still fluttering from the prolonged contact with Tendou and he blames not being able to focus properly on that. Semi serves the ball nonetheless, since he knows the court is no place for personal affairs and this is the _finals_ for God’s sake, and it goes straight to Karasuno’s ace. A volley begins, Goshiki claims the point after a fierce smackdown, and he hears everyone in the Shiratorizawa section cheering the first year on.

  
          Semi only really cares about the actions of one particular middle blocker. His heart soars when he sees Tendou standing on the sidelines, screaming and wildly gesticulating about like a five- year- old who just convinced his parents to buy him ice cream. That’s one thing that Semi loves about Shiratorizawa: everyone on the team is ridiculously supportive of every member. They all feel like a family- except Shirabu, screw Shirabu- and Semi is extremely glad that he gets to be a part of something so great. It’s a love for volleyball and his team- and, okay, a little crush on Tendou- that keeps Semi going every day. He only wishes he was strong enough to confront his feelings like he knows Tendou would- which, now, it seems like he’s going to. Notorious for falling for people fast, he appears to have a crush on none other than _Ushijima Wakatoshi._

  
          To put things bluntly, this really pisses Semi off. He’s seen the signs. Tendou is even more talkative and persistent than usual with Ushijima, probably trying to get him to open up or show some emotion for once. Semi silently curses to himself and wishes that he had closed himself off from Tendou like Ushijima does so that the idiot would have reason to talk to him. Semi and Tendou had kicked off a natural friendship from the first day they met, and although that shouldn’t be thought of as unfortunate, Semi almost regrets it. Perhaps this is the consequence of having been friends since they were first years- it is very possible that Tendou is growing bored of Semi. Tendou is a constantly changing person and maybe he needs something different than the same old Semi every single day. Ushijima is a mystery, and likely quite a fun one at that, and Semi knows Tendou’s going to have quite an interesting time solving the puzzle that is Shiratorizawa’s beloved ace.

  
          One day, Semi can’t help but overhear a conversation between the two at lunch break. He’s sitting at a table with Reon and Hayato who are having their own conversation while Semi zones out and stares blankly at the wall behind Reon’s head.  
          “Ushijima! You just got out of English study, right? How was it? Are you good? Can you speak it fluently yet? I can! I love English! It’s my favorite class and the teacher is really great, isn’t he? Man, it’s the only thing I look forward to besides volleyball practice with you every day!”  
          The subtle flirt does not go unseen by Semi. He clenches his fist and tries to ignore the pounding in his chest and the whispers of hurt and betrayal running through his head. Tendou gets nothing but a “it’s pretty good” in response from Ushijima, but he is undeterred as he presses on.  
          “Yeah, no, I really love it. You should learn it more so we can have whole conversations! But for now I’ll continue to take pleasure in talking about all of you behind your back. For example.” Tendou clears his through dramatically. _“I know you’re hearing all of this, Eita- kun. You’re a shit- eating eavesdropper.”_  
          Semi’s eyes widen as he hears his name, the only thing he recognizes from the English phrase. He hears Hayato laugh.  
          “He just called you a shit- eating eavesdropper, Semi- san.”  
          Semi turns around to see a wild glint in Tendou’s eye.  
          “I’ll smack a volleyball into your face at practice today and then I’ll see you eat shit, Satori.”  
          “Thanks for the warning, Semisemi! I’ll be on the lookout.” Tendou winks and turns back to Ushijima who has a slightly more intrigued look on his face now that volleyball has been mentioned. Semi can feel the happiness practically radiating off of Tendou now that he has Ushijima’s attention and with a sigh he tries to ignore the one- sided conversation continuing behind him.  
          Semi’s actually pretty sure Tendou is convinced that he likes Hayato. There’s particular reason since there isn’t any, but that confident bastard doesn’t need reason behind his “logic.” Semi laughs to himself at the irony behind Tendou being unable to read basic feelings and making a fool out of himself every single day. It’s endearing though, Semi admits, as most things about Tendou are.

  
          He’s saying something about French fries to Ushijima now and a pang of jealousy smacks Semi across the face once more. _I’d talk to you about French fries or English or anything else for that matter as long as you’re talking to me and not some stupid big ace dude person who doesn’t even care because he’s not interested in you and I hope you realize this banter is pointless and also I really hope that you know your food is looking absolutely fantastic right now and it’s a shame you’re not eating it because I’m about to take DAMN IT Tendou don’t you smack my hand away from your food I want your food I’ll smack YOU oh God I didn’t mean to smack you that hard and okay now you’re throwing your food at me that is FANTASTIC thank you oh yes Hayato please get into this food fight too we’re gonna kick their asses except maybe not because I forgot how powerful mister super big ace dude is and there is absolutely no way that can be Washijou he NEVER comes in here to get food oh my GOD it is him guys please stop_

* * *

                    Semi, Tendou, Ushijima, and Hayato are in deep shit. Reon isn’t in deep shit because he is an innocent bystander. Good old Reon. Semi would actually be in a fairly lighthearted mood right now except Washijou is pissed. Actually, he’s beyond pissed. Semi knows this because the four of them are not being yelled at and instead are victims of the Death Stare. Seriously, it’s terrifying. Semi is not scared of much besides the dark and cockroaches, but this, this takes the cake.

  
          Washijou keeps looking at all of them (except Reon, Reon is pardoned and is sitting in the corner, awkwardly scrolling through something on his phone) and it’s like he has nothing to say, which would make sense, because why in the world would four of his well- disciplined volleyball team members be doing something as childish as throwing food at each other. Okay, three. Washijou would expect behavior like this from Tendou.

  
          _Well, there go all my chances at ever being a starter on the team again,_ thinks Semi forlornly. He’s so engrossed in a plan to somehow get Shirabu into a food fight- that doesn’t involve himself, obviously, he’s been in enough trouble- that he doesn’t notice Washijou finally clear his throat and reel off their punishment.  _Probably serves. I don’t mind that._

* * *

          “What the hell do you mean it’s not serves?” whines Semi. He’s walking with Tendou back to their dorm building after having departed from Washijou’s office. It’s a nice day outside and Semi’s looking up at the puffy white clouds in the otherwise clear blue sky and trying to figure out their shapes.  
          “What do you mean ‘what the hell do I mean?’ I mean we don’t have to do serves as a punishment. I literally _just_ said that, Semisemi,” Tendou exclaimed.  
          “It’s always serves though!” retorted Semi. “And stop calling me that.” He secretly loves the nickname, but Tendou can’t ever know that. It’s reverse psychology. “Baseball bat,” he says, pointing at one particularly long and skinny cloud.  
          “Yeah, well, you have no room to complain. You started it, _Semisemi._ ” Tendou grins. “Plus, I actually kind of like running. It’s freeing, you know? Like, I can feel all the wind blowing on my face when I go fast enough and I can think about whatever I want! Also, that’s clearly a snake.”  
          “You cannot think about whatever you want. Don’t you go forgetting about the time you literally ran into a bench because you were so deep in thought about whether the universe has edges or not. Baseball bat,” he adds at a second thought.  
          “Eita- kun, I can think about whatever I want, whenever I want and there is no bench or simple- minded running buddy who can stop me.” Tendou points towards the heavens at a large cloud. “Dragon.”  
          “That’s a pretty badass dragon,” admits Semi. “Wait, did you call me simple- minded?! I am not!”  
          “Are too.” Tendou laughs as they approach the dorm building. “And this is where we part ways, my dearest Semisemi. Will you be able to survive without me?”  
          “Satori, I’m seeing you in 30 minutes for our punishment.”  
          “30 minutes is a _long_ time to be apart. I’m really not sure you’ll make it.”  
          Semi rolls his eyes. “I’ll make it. The real question is if I’ll be mentally prepared to see you again so soon.”  
          Tendou puts a hand to his heart and grimaces dramatically. “Such harsh words, Eita- kun… such harsh words. You don’t talk to Hayato like that, do you?” he whines.  
          “Hayato’s not an ass.”  
          “Language!”  
          Semi squints up at Tendou. “Says you,” he retorts. “Anyways, we do really have to go, I gotta change and get my shit together before we have to run for 10 miles of sweat, abstract thoughts about the universe, and undeniably sore legs for the next few days. I’ll see you, Satori.” There’s an edge to his words, but Semi doesn’t really mean it all that harshly.  
          “See ya, Semisemi~!”  
          Semi climbs up the flight of stairs inside the lobby and walks down the hall to his shared room with Hayato. His roommate isn’t there, maybe either getting food elsewhere in replacement of his lunch or already at the gym warming up for their run. Semi tosses on shorts and a plain t-shirt, grabs a water bottle from his mini fridge, and replaces his phone with a small music player and some headphones. _I guess at least this run will prepare me for walking across my soon- to be- college campus? At least I know I’ll be able to outrun any scary college people who try anything on me._

  
          These pathetic reassurances don’t do much to help Semi get in the right mindset for a workout, but it does set him thinking on college and his options. He’s deeply enthralled in these thoughts of the future for most of the run, and he pays no attention to Tendou’s taunts and challenges since he’s not really in the mood for a race right now (especially since he knows Tendou would beat him easily). Even so, he doesn’t think anything could make him miss the sight of Tendou running straight into a fire hydrant- likely lost as deep in thought as Semi himself was- and tripping head over heels into the street, directly into the path of a bicyclist who can’t seem to stop herself in time. Luckily, there’s plenty of people in the street who see the accident and someone ends up calling an ambulance. To Semi’s disappointment, he can’t ride in the ambulance as he’s done in the past when Tendou’s been reckless, so he takes his own car over to the hospital. _He’ll be okay,_ Semi reasons. _I don’t even want to count how many times he’s been to the hospital in all the years I’ve known him and he’s always been okay._  
Semi’s sitting in the waiting room for a while, leafing through his various college acceptance letters mindlessly. Naturally, college is the last thing on his mind right now. Semi passes time by reading the magazines on the table beside him, listening to every single song he has on his music player, and chatting with Tendou’s parents.

  
          It must have been hours before he finally sees the familiar face of his idiot teammate again when his head pops out sideways from the doorway. He gives his visitor a sheepish grin, then steps all the way out so Semi can see the damage. Which, he has to admit, really isn’t all that bad at first glance. Tendou’s right wrist is wrapped up in a bright red cast and he has small bandages all over his scraped legs, but other than that, no damage is visible. He learns later from a nurse that Tendou also has a concussion from hitting his head on the pavement in the initial fall. He can’t participate in sports involving the use of his wrist until the cast is off and he’s going to stay in the hospital for a few days just to make sure that everything’s going to be okay with his head.

  
          After saying goodbye to Tendou and his parents with a promise to come over for dinner one more time, Semi gets in his car and drives back home. He throws all the college letters on his bed and picks up the one that lands on his pillow.

  
_Guess I’m going to Kyoto._


	2. Last- Minute Celebrations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took extremely long to publish. I'm way less busy from here on out so hopefully I can be more on top of things :,)

Time After Time

Chapter Two- Goodbyes

It’s Tendou’s second day in the hospital and he is extremely disheartened by the lack of visits he’s gotten. His teammates all sent in cards, some of the nicer people attaching manga or chocolate and some of the assholes reminding him to study for his finals. He supposes that’s what’s been keeping everyone away from him, his friends most likely using the typical “I’m studying!” excuse to get out of every other life expectation at the moment.

So when Semi Eita walks through the door bearing nothing more than an embarrassed half- grin, brand new bandages for Tendou’s hands, and aloe lotion, his heart leaps and he feels a rush of pure gratitude for his friend.

“Hey, Satori. I brought these.” Semi waves the bandages in the air. “How are you doing?”

“Eita- kun, how do you always know _exactly_ what I need? And, actually, I’m doing perfectly fine, which is why I don’t understand why I have to stay here. Do you know how boring this is?”

Semi rolls his eyes. “No, I don’t know how boring it is, because I’m not stupid enough to go and get myself hurt every other week.” He sets the bandages down on a small nightstand and squeezes some lotion into his hands. “Left hand first,” he suggests. Tendou obliges, and Semi begins to gently massage the aloe into his fingers. “The swelling’s gone down, hasn’t it?” he says.

“Yeah! Probably ‘cause I haven’t played in a while. My thumbs still kinda hurt though,” Tendou replies.

“Alright, maybe I’ll bandage those for today. Better safe than sorry.” Semi finishes rubbing in the lotion and reaches for the bandages. It’s a pre- game ritual that he already misses dearly: taking care of Tendou’s hands and making sure he hasn’t hurt himself too badly. Semi takes pride in knowing that Tendou trusts only him with the bandaging of his hands and he smiles as he begins to wrap up Tendou’s index finger.

“What’s this? Semi Eita, _smiling?_ No. Can’t be possible. What did I do this time?” Tendou runs his other hand through his hair arrogantly.

" _You_ did nothing. I’m just recalling the time that you let Tsutomu bandage your hands because he told you that he was trained by a professional but it turned out “professional” meant two and a half web articles. It was so shitty that I had to intervene because I could not bear to look at whatever the hell he did was,” Semi tells him. Tendou lets out an extremely obnoxious laugh.

“I remember that! I swear I love that kid but he’s _such_ an idiot. Oh, and speaking of idiots, I seem to have distracted _you_ from your studies.” Semi stops bandaging Tendou’s finger to give him the death stare. “Thanks to Kenjiro, Reon, and Wakatoshi, I was forced to be reminded of the fact that I really, _really_ need to focus on not failing this time.”

“They’re right, you know. I hope you’ve opened your books at least _once._ However,” Semi avoids Tendou’s gaze. “I haven’t done anything. I was thinking we could go over some of the material together? You know, so we can force each other to focus and all that crap.” He nods to the pile of untouched books in the far corner of the room.

Tendou sighs. “Why not. I know I have to do it sometime,” he admits reluctantly.

“Good. We’ll start when I’m finished here,” says Semi. He wraps up the last bandage and motions to Tendou for his right hand.

They sit in comfortable silence for a while, occasionally meeting each other’s eyes, and Semi’s just starting to wrap his thumb when Tendou blurts out, “Do you wanna sign my cast?”

Semi is a bit taken aback, but he mutters a quick “sure” and finishes up his bandaging while Tendou looks around for a pen. He finds a marker somewhere in the folds of his bedsheets and gives it to Semi, then closes his eyes and waits patiently for Semi to write something. At least, as patiently as Tendou can manage to be. He peeks after a good 30 seconds and sees that Semi’s still sitting there, devoid of any ideas and clever cast- signing phrases, and smacks the marker out of Semi’s hand.

“Semisemi, I am not going to wait all day for you to sign my cast. I have things to _do._ ”

Semi scoffs. “What, like study?”

"Wow, you know… all of a sudden… it’s like… I could wait forever for you to sign it…”

"How romantic.” Tendou laughs and Semi’s kicking himself internally for letting himself say that. “However, you _don’t_ need to wait forever. Close your eyes.” Tendou eagerly screws his eyes shut for about 2 seconds and then peeks at Semi’s handiwork. He realizes he probably should not have let his curiosity get the best of him when he awkwardly meets Semi’s eyes.

“I’m going to MYE for college next semester,” Tendou says to break the silence. “There’s a good graphic design program there and I don’t really care all too much about my education if we’re being honest here so I don’t need to go to the most prestigious school even though my parents-“

“I’m going to Kyoto.”

Silence consumes the room once more as Tendou takes in this new information.

“I thought you were staying here. Or, you know, at least around the area. I thought we were all staying, Eita, I thought that was what we were planning on since we were first years.”

Semi’s heart breaks. He can’t _believe_ he forgot that dumb promise he made. It’s probably one of the first things he swore he’d do with Tendou when they had just become friends. He swallows his emotions, all intentions of finishing his message on Tendou’s cast thrown out the window. “Satori, I realized that I really need to get out of here because it’s been too long living in the same place and I don’t know, I need a breath of fresh air? It’s all about trying new things and all that stuff your parents always preach to you.” The bullshit excuses are painful to say but Semi isn’t ready to admit that he’ll fail anywhere he goes and that he _literally picked his future at random._

Tendou’s trying very hard to hide his emotions. Semi can tell. “Hey. Hey, Satori. It’ll be okay. We can still text and call even, probably, and I can visit you and-”

“Yeah. I know. Let’s start with English?” Tendou’s trying very hard to change the subject. Semi can still tell.

“You’re only suggesting that because you know I suck at English and you like taunting me with your talent.”

“Oh, so you admit I have talent?”

"….Okay, shut up.”

 

 

 

A nurse walks in later to announce that visiting hours are over only to be greeted by two peacefully sleeping boys. She hates to wake them up because God, they look so calm, but she gently nudges her patient’s friend until he lazily blinks open his eyes and checks out his surroundings.

“Visiting hours are over,” she reminds him. Semi nods sleepily and looks at Tendou lazily slumped over in his bed, right arm dangling dangerously off the side.

“I have one more thing to do and then I’ll be out of your hair, I promise,” Semi tells her. He climbs out of his chair and looks around on the floor for the marker, finally spotting it under Tendou’s bed. Semi stretches out his arm to get it, successfully coming in contact with a few dust bunnies in the process, and wipes it off on his shirt before opening it and finishing the phrase he had started. He blushes, noticing what he wrote- or, didn’t finish writing- before he got distracted. Semi signs his name at the bottom of his message with a flourish, collects his things, takes a last look at the sleeping Tendou, and leaves his friend with no sure plans of ever seeing each other again.

 

 

Semi is trying _so_ hard to enjoy his evening, but that is ridiculously difficult to do when one’s phone will not stop buzzing.

“Hayato. For the love of god, will you please be a good roommate and throw my phone out the window so I don’t have to listen to that vibrating every two seconds? Thanks,” Semi deadpans. Yamagata scoffs and gets off the couch to retrieve the phone from Semi’s nightstand. He tosses it to Semi, who gracefully receives it with his face. “Now we know why you’re not the setter,” Semi mutters. “Oh, fantastic.”

As Semi expected, there are about 30 messages on his phone from Tendou. Most- actually, probably all- regarding his little confession earlier. He opens up their text thread to a picture of Tendou’s cast. And, sure enough, the phrase _I love Death Note. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner but I knew you would freak out and never let me live peacefully again. –Eita (ps get well soon!)_ stares right back at him. Scrolling down, Semi can see a series of messages that all read something along the lines of _WhAT THE FUCK EITA_ and for a moment Semi is mildly overwhelmed. He’s used to this, though. Benefits (?) of being friends with Tendou. He types out a quick response and sighs before turning off his phone and throwing it in Yamagata’s direction.

Yamagata grunts and returns the phone to Semi’s nightstand. “You know,” he mentions, “that you do have the capability to handle your own possessions, right?”

Semi rolls his eyes, something he’s realizing he has done quite a lot of lately. “Yes, but it’s much easier to have you do it, Hayato. I truly do appreciate the help.”

“Is that why you’re going all the way out to Kyoto? To force yourself to actually take care of your life?”

It’s not a straight up insult, but Semi is still taken aback by the slight edge to his voice. Yamagata can be quite intense on the court, everyone can see that, but Semi’s definitely seen after three years of rooming with him that he’s very compassionate and caring more often than not.

“One of the reasons, I guess. Why don’t you do the same?” Semi replies, trying to keep the shock out of his voice.

“I like it here. I have my family and most of our friends are staying too. And… well, don’t tell anybody this ‘cause I’m supposed to be keeping it a secret, but Washijou wants me to be the assistant coach for the team next year.”

Semi has so many things he wants to say but he finds himself unable to string any of them together into a sentence. Yamagata isn’t making eye contact with him, instead staring determinedly at the pile of half- eaten snacks on his bed, no doubt _strongly_ reconsidering his decision to finally let that secret out.

Semi gets up from their small couch and throws himself onto his friend. Yamagata seems taken aback by the gesture of congratulations at first but slowly relaxes into the hug and eventually settles his arms around Semi. They stay like that for a while, Yamagata resting his head on Semi’s shoulder and, without realizing it, starts crying. Semi takes a moment to pull himself out of their embrace and asks, “You okay?”

Yamagata sighs. “Yeah. I just- I don’t want to leave the team but I’m also so excited to go on and try new things but I’m really scared that I’ll be a bad coach and people won’t like me and this is terrifying and exhilarating all at once and I thought you’d be here to help me? There are a lot of emotions going on right now, dude.” He lets out a small smile. “But I’m also glad you’re taking initiative. You’ll do really well in Kyoto.”

Semi doesn’t really know what to say. _I’ve never been the best at comforting people,_ he thinks glumly. Tendou is an exception. That boy is so ridiculously simple- minded that even a chimpanzee could likely figure out what to do to cheer him up, but Yamagata is a totally different person. Semi decides to go with his instinct.

“Thank you,” he says. Semi pauses for a second before asking, and Yamagata finally meets his eyes. “Do you think it’d be all right if we told the other third years? We could go out and have a celebratory dinner or something. And go bowling, maybe? Once Satori’s out of the hospital tomorrow afternoon, of course. He’d kill us if we did anything without him.”

Yamagata grins. “That’d be great. Knowing Tendou, he’ll probably tell the entire prefecture that I’m gonna be assistant coach next year but I really think we all need a night to just have some fun. It’ll be hard to coax Reon and Ushijima out of studying, though. Any ideas?”

“Tell them we’re going to the library. Shove them in the car. Take them away from their jail of books and force them to enjoy themselves for just a few hours.”

"But they’re so _nice_ and _innocent._ I’d feel bad tricking them.”

“I’ll tell Satori the plan. He’d do it.”

“Sold.”

To everyone’s surprise, Ushijima’s never bowled before and therefore the first 10 minutes of their game consist of Reon and Yamagata trying to teach him how to roll the ball. Semi has been appointed with the job of getting food and Tendou took the responsibility of typing everyone’s name into the scoreboard. Semi returns from the snack bar to see Tendou grinning by the screen, clearly pleased with his handiwork.

  1. Tender Salami
  2. Hoeato
  3. Benkei
  4. Semisemi
  5. Miraclboysuperleftyace



“Tendou, you know ‘miracle’ is spelled with an e, right?” Reon informs him. “This is something you’d know if you studied.” Semi hears Yamagata snort.

“I was out of characters! It wouldn’t let me spell it right!” splutters Tendou. Everyone laughs and Semi raises a questioning eyebrow to Ushijima.

“I think I get it now,” Ushijima says. “We can start.”

Tendou picks up a ball with his left hand. “How the _hell_ do you do this, Wakatoshi? This is so awkward. Do any of you know how to remove a cast?” he complains.

“I don’t think that would be very productive-”

“Ushijima, he’s kidding,” Reon says.

Tendou steps up to the lane and rolls the ball. No less than two seconds later, it falls into the gutter. Everyone laughs as Tendou puts his head in his hands and begins the walk of shame back to his friends.

“This is _so_ unfair,” he groans. “I could normally beat any of you, no problem.”

Semi raises his eyebrows. “Okay,” he says. “The four of us play with their left hand.” He gestures to Tendou, Yamagata, and Reon. “Ushijima plays with his right. Is that fair, Satori?”

Tendou laughs. “Perfect, Semisemi! All of you better do it. No cheating.”

“I’m indifferent,” Ushijima says.

“Fine by me,” Reon agrees. Yamagata shrugs.

“Awesome~!” Tendou picks up his ball and rolls it down the lane. He’s a bit more successful this time, knocking over four pins on the right. Tendou cheers and dances over to Semi. “How’s that for a strike, Eita- kun?”

“Satori, that’s not a strike.”

“What’s it called, then?” Tendou asks. Semi is seriously rethinking every single moment in his life that led up to him inviting Tendou to go bowling with him.

“There’s no name for that. ‘Cause you suck so much you can’t even get a spare, let alone a strike.” 

“You’re no fun, Semisemi.” Tendou pouts. Semi raises an eyebrow.

“You wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for me. Speaking of which, all of you don’t even know why you’re here. Hayato, care to make an announcement?” Semi suggests.

“Well, I know _I’m_ here because all of you refuse to think about what the best thing to do for yourself is. We’re all supposed to be studying right now, which _should_ be obvious.” Reon deadpans.

“Reon, not the point,” Hayato begins. “As we now know, all of us except Semi are staying around here for university.” Semi can’t meet anyone’s eyes. “Saitou got a job in Tokyo so he’s leaving next year. And well, I’m gonna need the help of all of you- yes, even you, Semi- because Washijou asked me to be the assistant coach next year.”

“HOLY SHIT DUDE,” Tendou yells. Yamagata blushes and averts his gaze.

“Yeah. I accepted because I know this is a fantastic opportunity but I’m no expert so I’ll probably bug all of you for help all year long-“

“Hayato- kun, I’m going to force my way into all of your practices so I can watch you coach Kenjiro and Tsutomu and Taichi and everyone else and so I can meet all the first years and teach ‘em how to block! It’s gonna be great,” Tendou exclaims.

“I’m pretty sure you can’t do that, Tendou,” Reon says. “But Hayato, that’s fantastic news! I’m so happy for you.”

“As am I,” Ushijima agrees.

“Guys, the sashimi isn’t gonna eat itself,” Semi implies. Tendou reaches a hand out to the plate of fish and smacks away Yamagata’s arm.

“The pins won’t knock themselves over, either!” Tendou teases. “It’s your turn, _Hoeato._ ” Yamagata looks forlornly at the sashimi.

"You better save some for me, asshole.”

 

Needless to say, the third years of the Shiratorizawa Volleyball Club are all extremely competitive, resulting in the most intense game of bowling Semi has ever been a part of. Reon and Tendou are tied for first place, Ushijima following in a close second, Semi in third, and Yamagata last. The final frame begins with Tendou getting 9 pins down and Semi can’t help but admire how quickly he adapted to using his left hand. Yamagata knocks down 7, a personal best of the day, and celebrates by running off to the snack bar to buy himself some uni donburi. Reon hits 8 down on his first try and completely misses on his second by throwing a gutter ball, much to the delight of a now certainly victorious Tendou. Semi manages to knock down 9 pins and poor Ushijima hits 5 due to Tendou’s “success dance” which just _had_ to include jumping on Ushijima piggyback style while he rolled his ball down the lane on his second turn.

“Satori, please calm down. You’re starting to worry the employees.” Semi looks at the girl sweeping the floor a few lanes over who is giving them a blatant death stare.

“Starting?” Yamagata scoffs. “He was starting to worry them about an hour ago, when we walked in here and he immediately asked the receptionist- at a volume I’m pretty sure most humans are not capable of reaching- to play the One Piece soundtrack.”

Tendou pouts. “I can’t _believe_ they don’t take requests. I’m going to sue this place.”

“I’m going to sue you for being a pain in the ass,” Semi replies.

“Semisemi!”

“Tendoutendou!!”

“Shut up, you two,” says Yamagata. “They’re closing now. We gotta go.”

The third years walk back to Semi’s car. Tendou calls shotgun and the others pile into the backseat. Semi lingers on Tendou’s side until Ushijima shuts his door from inside.

“I’m leaving the day we graduate. Sorry I didn’t tell you before. I didn’t want you to be thinking about that tonight,” Semi admits. Tendou scrunches his face up.

“That’s in like a week…You’re sure? You could spend some of vacation here. Please, Eita. I’ve had like no notice of all of this and now all of a sudden you’re gonna be gone for the first time in three years.” Tendou stares into Semi’s eyes, successfully intimidating him into reconsidering. Semi wants so badly to stay, yet he knows what he needs to do.

“I need time to settle in. Figure out how to take care of myself before I get a shitload of assignments shoved onto me so I’m not stressed out the first few weeks. You know school has always been pretty hard for me and I really need to stay on top of things. I don’t want to be the person who fails all their classes and ends up dropping out to work at a grocery store for the rest of their life.”

Tendou pulls open his door and gets in the car. Semi slides into the drivers’ seat. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, Eita. I… just, let’s go home.”

 

 

Semi knocks on Tendou’s door before slowly cracking it open. They had arrived back at the school a few hours ago and it was long past the time they should be asleep, but luckily Tendou was alone in his room and Semi couldn’t accidentally wake his roommate this time.

“Yunohama out again?”

Tendou looks up at the door from where he’s sitting on his bed. “Yeah,” he replies. “Said something about Soekawa before grabbing his stuff and running out the door. This isn’t even the first time.”

“They’re totally a thing,” Semi snickers.

“Eita, my dude, they’ve been a thing since second year.”

“Seriously?? Well, makes a whole lot of sense now. I never thought so much sexual tension could be displayed through serves and receives.” Semi shuts the door and sits beside Tendou on his bed. “Whatcha doing?”

Tendou sighs and puts the sketchbook down onto his lap. “Trying to draw with my left hand. I can’t do shit and it’s annoying.” He waves his cast in front of Semi’s face. “I swear this is gonna be the death of me. Thank god I’ll have it off by uni, but still! I wanna practice,” he whines.

“So you’re doing graphic design? For sure?” Semi asks. He knows Tendou has been interested in visual arts for a while, but he was unsure of what exactly he wanted to do.

“That’s the plan. Minor in animation too. You won’t catch me slacking off next year!”

“What about the year after that?”

“ _That’s_ when I begin to revert back to my old habits.”

They laugh and Semi averts his gaze. “Actually, that’s sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. I swear I’m going to Kyoto because I want to, not because I’m avoiding you or anything stupid.” _And I’m definitely not making this up so that I can justify choosing my college at random,_ he thinks.

“You don’t have to make excuses for wanting to leave me, Semisemi,” Tendou replies teasingly.

Semi gives him a blank stare. “Ok, sorry, that was stupid,” Tendou admits. “I know you’re going to do amazingally. Is that a word? It is now. Anyways, I want you to know that I wholeheartedly support all of your decisions, even if said decisions include leaving me, and I will gladly help you navigate your life. I’ll be a call away, Eita.”

“What if I lose my phone?” Semi questions.

“Idiot,” mutters Tendou. He picks up a pencil and messily scratches his number onto a paper in his sketchbook. Semi carefully rips it out and puts it in his pocket.

“Great, now I really don’t have any excuses,” he says sarcastically.

Tendou pouts. “Eita- kun, when will you stop being rude to me?”

Semi shrugs. “Now’s a good time as ever, I guess.” He carefully sets Tendou’s pencil and sketchbook on the floor and tackles his friend in a hug. They stay like that for a while, eventually rolling over onto their sides. Semi’s head gently rests against Tendou. “I really am gonna miss you,” he mumbles into Tendou’s chest.

“I know. I’m gonna miss you too. I love you, Eita.”

“Yeah,” Semi whispers. He’s pretty sure his heart is no longer beating at this point. _We are friends. We’re really good friends. We’ve known each other for three years, he’s allowed to say that. Even if it’s not exactly in the way I want to hear it._ “Satori, I gotta go.”

Tendou closes his eyes and takes his arm off of Semi’s side. “It’s like 2 am, dude,” he says. “Get some sleep.”

“You too.” Semi forces himself out of the bed and Tendou’s embrace and walks across the room. He makes sure to close the door quietly on his way out. 


	3. New Developments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm so so sorry this took forever to publish. I have been quite busy, but I am desperately trying to publish these chapters faster. Someday it will happen. Someday.

_**EITA(๑ >◡<๑)** _

  
_ >>[2:08am] semi_  
_ >>[2:08am] semisemi_  
_ >>[2:08am] semisemisemi_  
_ >>[2:08am] semisemisemisemi_  
_ >>[2:08am] semisemisemisemisemi_  
_[2:09am] WHAT DO YOU WANT_  
_ >>[2:09am] oh_  
_ >>[2:09am] that was loud eita_  
_ >>[2:09am] there r people trying to sleep _  
_[2:09am] you mean like me_  
_ >>[2:09am] yes_  
  
_ >>[2:10am] ok well I got my cast off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_  
  
_ >>[2:12 am] wanna see _  
  
_ >>[2:14am] why are u like this_  
  
_ >>[3:23am] semi it's so unfair no one stays up to talk to me _  
_ >>[3:23am] you used to what happened ::(((_  
  
_ >>[3:46am] ok im goin 2 bed goodnight eita^_−☆_  
  
_miss you <3_, he types before he changes his mind and deletes the stupid message. Tendou shoves his head into his pillow and clutches his blankets tightly.

He hasn’t seen Semi in a month. Tendou longs for the days where they'd go to the roof of Semi’s uncle’s grocery store and talk for hours with their legs dangling over the edge. He misses all their efforts spent learning how to skate at the park across the street from Shiratorizawa (“Come ON, Eita!! We'd look so punk rock!!”) and even the days spent indoors whenever Semi wanted a new hair color and needed Tendou’s help getting the back parts.

 

Tendou misses Semi and he’s not ashamed to admit that to himself. Sure, he loves hanging out with Reon and Yamagata and Ushijima, even if he _did_ go through a very strange phase of crushing on the latter. Which he’s most definitely moved on from, since the guy isn’t his type and Tendou soon realized flirting with him was basically a shot in the dark. _Hell, even Eita’s more of my type than Wakatoshi is,_ Tendou realizes. _Pretty sure he’s straight though. Then again, Wakatoshi is probably as straight as a pole too._

 _Or, maybe  I’m just_ really _horrible at guessing people’s sexualities,_ he figures.

 

* * *

 

 

Semi violently throws his algebra textbook across his room and immediately regrets it. _Eita, you do not have the money to be throwing those expensive ass books everywhere,_ he thinks. He suspects his roommate- an extremely energetic character who runs almost entirely on energy drinks- of subconsciously incorporating his own disastrous habits into Semi’s peaceful lifestyle. Said roommate was currently out at a place Semi doesn’t remember the name of and frankly, he’s just glad that he’ll get at least a few hours of peace and quiet to study.

However, this particular study session has turned into an opportunity to think about how completely screwed Semi is. Not just for the upcoming algebra test, but for school in general. Academics have never been Semi’s strong point and although he _knew_ college wouldn’t be an easy ride, he feels like he never could have prepared for the rigorous courses he’s taking. According to other students, he’s taking some of the hardest classes out of the GE requirements right now so he finds a small bit of comfort in knowing that he’s getting the difficult classes out of the way first thing. If he can pass them, that is.

He’s also finding a small bit- okay, a lot- of comfort in the boy he met while out on an evening run. Apparently the two shared similar exercise habits, which made a _lot_ of sense when he realized why the boy had looked so familiar and where he might have seen him previously.

Before he knew it, the two had agreed upon getting tea from the cafe just off campus and Semi realized he was enjoying himself for the first time since he had left Miyagi. It was certainly an odd coincidence, he thought. Although, he was definitely not complaining because Sugawara Koushi was an absolute delight to be around.

Their second outing had been in the park, where they’d tossed around a volleyball that Sugawara had kept with him since he graduated last year. Not the most romantic activity, but to Semi, this was something different and special. He hadn’t realized Sugawara had been in such a similar situation to him, and they eventually ended up sitting on the grass in the shade and talking about their experiences, no matter how cheesy that may be.

“Do you think the coaches ever felt- you know, _bad?_ Like they made the wrong choice? I mean, they both played volleyball. They probably wanted to play all the time too. And they knew we were good,” Semi muses.

Sugawara laughs. “Oh, I know my coach felt bad. He had a really hard time putting in a first year instead of me. But he knew I would understand that it’s the best thing for the team. And it’s not like I was being kicked off altogether,” he explains. “I still got to play sometimes. I wasn’t a pinch server, we had someone else to do that, but when our regular setter got tired I’d take his place. I loved every second.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while before Semi realized he should probably be getting back to his room since there was work he needed to catch up on. He thanked Suga and they walked back, sharing an embrace before going to their separate rooms.

 

Their fourth “date,” as Semi was now beginning to think of these outings as, was to the bowling alley (per Suga’s suggestion). Semi knew his thoughts would constantly wander to his old third- year teammates and their last outing together but he didn’t have any other ideas so he agreed to go. He tried to contain it all but miserably failed. Some stories are just too good to not tell, and lucky Suga got to hear all about Semi’s high school friends and all the weird shit they did together. Suga had been pleasantly surprised at how a team that had appeared to be so serious had the potential to take part in some of the wildest stories he had ever heard.

As for the bowling, Semi had only ever been to the place back in Miyagi. And even then only a few times. Suga, on the other hand- he was an extremely good bowler who clearly practiced a lot more than Semi did.

By the end of the night, Semi had gotten his ass kicked. Four times. _Four._ But he had to admit that he had fun, even if it had made Semi extremely nostalgic.

That night he had finally remembered to reply to Tendou’s texts.

 

* * *

 

Semi hasn’t seen Suga in a while. He’s been thoroughly swamped with homework and studying and essay after essay and frankly, he misses his company.

 

Semi gives up on studying, picks up his phone, and texts Suga.

_> >[10:08pm] Ur smart right_

The reply came a few minutes later.

_[10:12pm] Eita you know all you have to do is say “hey I really need to not study right now” and I can come over and provide ample distraction_

_> >[10:13pm] I need to study tho :((( help me_

_[10:15pm] Fine. Only cause I wanna see you_

No later than 10 minutes after Sugawara had agreed to come to Semi’s dorm, he shows up with microwave popcorn and two cups of ramen.

“Only two?” Semi teases. Sugawara rolls his eyes.

“You can have both. I already ate,” he explains as he sees Semi’s sarcastic look of confusion. “What do you need help with?”

“Well, I changed my mind,” Semi says. “We’re watching a movie.”

“Oh, cool. Just us tonight?” asks Sugawara. Semi’s sure he’s thinking about the time where his roommate was too sick to annoy people who were not Semi. The night ended with Semi’s roommate throwing up on the floor and terrifying Suga so badly he fell off the couch right into the pile of puke. It’s something they both want to erase from their memory forever but never seem to be able to, unfortunately.

“Yeah. Roommate’s out at some bar. He said something about seeing a really hot guy there last time and is going to try to get the courage to do more than stare at him tonight,” Semi assures.

“Bokuto, right? That’s your roommate’s name?” Sugawara asks.

“Yep,” Semi affirms. “I think the best thing for both of us to do right now is pray that this hot guy is into him as well so he can take Bo off our hands for a bit.” Sugawara dramatically falls to his knees and clasps his hands together in prayer.

“O heavenly father, may Bokuto find this hot guy again-”

“And may the hot guy be able to tolerate Bo somehow-”

“So that I can have some peace with my boyfriend at last. Amen.”

This last phrase is met with dead silence for an uncomfortably long time. Semi looks at Sugawara, who appears to be having a staring contest with the floor.

“Hey-” Semi begins, but Sugawara cuts him off.

“Shouldn’t have said that. Sorry. My bad,” he says quietly.

“No, wait. It’s okay,” reassures Semi. “I’m just really awkward with this stuff, I guess we are dating, I’ve never dated anyone before so it’s hard and I don’t know?” he stammers.

Sugawara laughs. “No worries. Yeah, wow, dating. Boyfriend. Lover.” He wriggles his eyebrows at Semi, who rolls his eyes and playfully slaps Suga’s arm.

“Seriously though, I wanna watch a movie,” says Semi.

“Anything in mind?” questions Suga. “I’m not picky.”

“Nor am I,” agrees Semi. “I was thinking _Grave of the Fireflies_?”

“Very touching. A classic. Let’s do it.” Suga grabs Semi’s arm and pulls him onto the couch in front of the small TV. Semi finds himself comfortably putting an arm around Suga- his _boyfriend-_ and Suga curls into Semi’s side.

_How surreal._

Semi’s phone buzzes from the table across the room where he left it, but the noise the vibrations make are lost among the music blaring from the television and it’s unlikely that the two men who are so immersed in each other would notice it anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, jeez, I know the length of my chapters is wildly fluctuating. Bear with me while I find a medium :,)


	4. Blue skies! That's it everything else is kinda sad and a little weird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd apologize but that would end up being longer than the entire chapter so I won't.  
> But, I do have some Things to say-  
> I've realized that I'm much better suited to writing poetry and short things just because of my writing style. I figure if you're reading this you're well aware of how blunt and laid back my style is, and it's really not for things like this but sometimes I'm laying in bed trying to get to sleep at night and I remember I never finished this even though I had a whole plan and it drives me INSANE.  
> So, I am going to finish it. It's not going to be as long as I originally planned and the rest of the chapters are going to be very short, which sort of defeats the purpose of having so many chapters but I'll just call it a creative style and artistic choice and leave it at that.

Tendou is a very obnoxious person. He’s loud and terribly annoying and in any other situation he would be embracing that, but right now he just wants _quiet_.

“Jordan, can you please just shut up a minute?” he says, coming off a little more harshly than intended. She looks up from her bed, fingers centimeters above her keyboard and a raised eyebrow questioning his sudden bitterness. “Sorry,” Tendou says quickly. “Not your fault, I just hate- and you know I do- studying with all of my soul and I rarely do it but the few times I do you always happen to be composing a whole orchestra or some shit.”

Jordan smiles slightly. “Sorry, buddy. I’ll plug my headphones in just for you.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I think I’m going to take a walk. It’s a nice day outside,” he comments, looking out the window. Tendou pats his pocket to see if his phone’s there and, finding it is, walks out of the dormitory and onto the grassy field right beside it. He likes Jordan, even if it’s a little weird having her live in his room (he wasn’t supposed to be his roommate, but after a bad breakup and lots of drama he’d rather not think about, he couldn’t help but offer his empty bed to her). He honestly just thinks she’s _cool_ , like the kind of person everyone wants to impress and he constantly feels like an idiot around her and her smooth demeanor but she once admitted to being charmed by him and he’s never forgotten it.

Tendou’s scrolling through Instagram even though he has encountered many a ditch or bump in  the ground that caused him to fall flat on his face while not paying attention to where he’s going. Seeing a picture of Semi and that one guy from the Karasuno team that looked like Semi together sort of weird- romantically trips him up more than any dent in the ground ever has.

 _Eita’s gay?_ _Or, maybe, Eita is comfortable with himself and this person and this guy is just a good friend and I shouldn’t be assuming things and I am an asshole._

 _Nope, this is too weird, I am the Token Gay, goodbye. Eita, you can’t do this to me. Stop taking the attention away from me_ are the thoughts that follow but, again, _I would have known if he was gay so it doesn’t even matter. Also, he would tell me, not that he’s gay but that he’s DATING SOMEONE. He knows I eat that shit up. Ridiculous._

Tendou looks up at the sky. There’s only a few clouds covering up the bright blueness and at that moment- unexplainably- he really, _really_ wants to be back in high school, focusing only on volleyball because that was all that mattered. He sends a text to Jordan, letting her know he's going to mess around with Yamagata and Shirabu at their practice and to ask her very nicely to get one of those really good blueberry muffins from their favorite cafe so he could have something nice to come back to and she reprimands him for leaving his books and note papers everywhere but grudgingly agrees. He texts Yamagata, who is delighted that Tendou wants to come but less delighted when he shows up at the Shiratorizawa gym and immediately starts wreaking havoc on the 3rd years instead of helping them practice. Goshiki got a haircut since the last time Tendou saw him and he is really upset about it because he can't call him mushroom head anymore so what is even the point of being his friend.

 

Tendou misses when life was simple. 


End file.
